Book Marketing Newsletters – Blog Tips from Author Marketing Experts, Inc.

I receive a lot of newsletters via email regarding publishing, independent publishing, and book marketing. The one put out by Author Marketing Experts, Inc. is consistently one of the best, with tips that authors and publishers can implement in every single issue. Thanks Penny Sansevieri! Today’s newsletter, titled “Seven Powerful Ways to Find New Readers for Your Blog,” contained some great blogging tips. I am including a portion of the newsletter here:

Seven Powerful Ways to Find New Readers for your Blog

It's one thing to have a blog, it's quite another to get readers. If you have a blog and have been blogging for a while you know what I mean. I was thrilled the first time someone commented on a blog post I made. A la Sally Field I wanted to jump off my chair and yell: "Yes, you like me, you really like me."

It can be a lonely journey to start a blog but once you do, you'll find that blogging can bring great value to whatever you're promoting. Your book, message or product can be greatly enhanced by the platform you create online. Now, it's just a question of finding readers and (of course) keeping them. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1) Write good blog headings: stay away from mysterious, nebulous blog titles. No one will read them and search engines can't spider them effectively. Be specific, tell what your blog is about in the title. Surprises aren't a good thing when it comes to blog titles.

2) Keep blogging - even if you don't think people are reading keep writing, eventually if you blog right readers will beat a path to your door.

3) Give away stuff: yes, it's ok to promote free stuff on your blog. Don't do it all the time but every now and again free stuff is a good thing!

4) Add your blog to your email signature line: this is a pretty simple way to gain exposure. Every time an email goes out you're promoting your blog, what could be easier!

5) Comment on other blogs: a great way to network with other bloggers is to comment on what they're doing/saying on their own blogs. Make cyber-friends, lots of them.

6) Invite people to guest blog or interview them: they'll promote the interview on their blog and this will help you get readers and expand your network. These interviews also make for great content.

7) Don't be afraid to state your opinion: your blog is your opportunity to get center stage with something that's important to you. State your opinion, you may be surprised at how many people agree with you.

There are, of course, dozens more ways to get readers to your blog and keep them there. These seven will get you started and keep the momentum going. Remember that while blogging may seem like a lonely way to promote yourself, blogs get picked up by search engines, and sometimes even media sites (like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times) so the benefits to starting and keeping a blog are enormous. If you feel like no one's reading you might be surprised. One day you'll get a notice that someone liked a post enough to comment on it. When that happens, you have my permission to be thrilled. Yes, they really like you.

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

I found these simple tips helpful, and have suggested some of them to our authors many times. (I don’t know how many times I’ve repeated the signature info in Number 4!) I know a number of our authors have recently entered the blogosphere and I hope you find these useful. Every author should subscribe to The Book Marketing Expert newsletter for more great tips.